Global soccer's governing body FIFA is taking the momentous step of preparing to sell minority stakes in a new commercial and events-based subsidiary.
In plans unveiled this afternoon, FIFA has said it plans to raise up to $4.2 billion through minority sales – assuming a total valuation of $20 billion in the venture – by "carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests" in what the Swiss-based body is calling FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
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FIFA has said this will go towards creating a new funding mechanism for its 211 member associations, called the FIFA Fast-Forward Programme (FFFP).
This is all still subject to approvals from both a majority of member associations and the FIFA Council, and FIFA has been keen to stress – given the negative publicity sure to surround this scheme – that it is only currently at the consultation stage.
However, it has also been unveiled that JP Morgan has already been engaged to work alongside FIFA on the project, and that Greg Maffei, former president and chief executive of Liberty Media when the group owned Formula 1, is also involved. Capital holding company Thrive Eternal – led by the brother of US president Donald Trump's son-in-law – will likely lead the FFE investor group, meanwhile.
Trump's administration has engaged in conversations with FIFA on this subject as the recent FIFA World Cup – held in the Americas – has taken place, according to media reports.
Indeed, while the plans are theoretically still open to consultation, FIFA has also openly said that expressions of interest have already arrived from potential investors across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.
FFE would bundle together all of FIFA's commercial rights, its broadcast rights, and the "operational delivery of FIFA tournaments." However, FIFA would retain control of FFE via majority board representation, and "exclusive authority" over governance, competitions, the international fixture calendar, and "all regulatory and sporting decisions."
FIFA claims it is acting to increase the central funding available for each member association – this number currently sits at $8 million, and the governing body is aiming to increase that figure to $20 million in time for the 2027-30 cycle.
Speaking before the final of the recently completed FIFA World Cup, earlier this month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino presaged this news by saying: "Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world.
"Every FIFA member association should have an opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others."
Securing the support of a majority of the aforementioned 211 member associations, who are now being offered an increase in centrally distributed FIFA funding, is necessary for Infantino to secure more years at the organization's helm.
However, the plans – which were first outlined in media reports earlier today – have already drawn the ire of European soccer's governing body UEFA.
In its own strongly-worded statement, released at the same time as FIFA's plans were officially made public, UEFA said: "This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously. So should every national football association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments, and everyone who cares about the future of the game.
"The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade – especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA’s to sell.”
In terms of who will be allowed to invest in FFE, the game's governing body has said the group of investors will be geographically diverse, and that they will be selected against clear criteria.
FIFA has also said that participation from member associations in FFFP will be entirely voluntary.
This news has come out, as mentioned above, following the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at which the number of competing teams rose from 32 at the last edition to a record 48.
This increase in the number of competing teams is, to a large extent, responsible for FIFA expecting to generate revenue of over $15 billion for the 2023-26 cycle.
Originally, the organization had projected income of $11 billion for the four years, but it is believed that hospitality and ticketing at this year's event – held across Mexico, the US, and Canada – especially through the heavily priced secondary market, account for a significant amount of the increase.
FIFA's scheme is also being unveiled soon after Infantino recently announced that a formal review will examine expanding the World Cup to a 64-team tournament – almost one-third of the countries that enter the qualification process – starting in 2030.
